Top 20 Best RPG Series of All Time

#16. – Grandia

# of Good Games in the Franchise: 4

Active: No

Grandia was developed by Gamearts and was the Sega Saturn’s answer to Final Fantasy. The first game was released in Japan for the Saturn and PS1, but only the latter was localized. Grandia II was pushed out for the Sega Dreamcast originally in all regions, but later came to the PlayStation 2. It’s two follow ups – Extreme and III were only made available for the PS2. There was also a spin-off for the Game Boy Color, as well as a bonus disc for the Sega Saturn which featured a new but very short scenario.

It’s easy to see why Sega pushed Grandia so hard. For all intents and purposes I wouldn’t have given it a second thought if this was called Lunar 3. It carried on all of the charming aspects of Gamearts original RPG series, but had a unique story focused purely on aspects of adventure and exploration. The battle system was unlike anything else at the time and allowed for significantly more strategy with timing and canceling enemies. Grandia II was much of the same but more limited in the exploration aspects. Extreme focused entirely on an enhanced version of the battle system but had a limited story and scope. Grandia III failed to reach the previous heights of the series but it’s still Grandia, and it’s still fun.

The Best Way to Play:

The first two Grandia games are the best ones. These were released in an enhanced HD package for the Nintendo Switch. If you’re looking to play them this is your best option by far. Grandia III was released on the PSN store for the PS3, and that’s the only way to play it upscaled. Unfortunately Grandia Xtreme is still a PS2 exclusive. This is the weakest link in the franchise so you shouldn’t feel bad about skipping it, but it’s still a pretty good romp.